-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I've never been fond of many of Mr. Bush's policies, but I will admit that on this topic I agree with him 100%.
The fact is that the hard-liners denouncing Islam are no better than bin Laden himself -- because they refuse to tolerate those who think differently, and are making sweeping generalizations about an entire culture based on the actions of a small minority.
(The following commentary is admittedly not an expert opinion, but I took a college class that touched on Islam a few years ago.)
I won't say that Islam is necessarily the most peaceful religion in the world. Yes, Muhammad was a warrior who established Islam by force. But also remember that the early battles especially were fought for the right to practice their religion. But Islam also brought a strong sense of morality and philosophy to the Arab world and beyond -- not to mention the fact that when the early Muslim empire was established, it was a firm policy to tolerate those new subjects who did not choose to convert to Islam.
Furthermore, anyone (especially in the US) who calls Islam a "militant" religion had better check for the plank in their own eye. The Crusades, the Thirty-Years' War, the persecution of Jews for nearly two thousand years, the Ku Klux Klan... just what makes Christianity any better than Islam?
The simple fact is that any religion or philosophy must be applied in practice, and its principles are often adapted, twisted, or perverted to suit the goals of those who profess to believe.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
well the U.S. policy on this has always been persecute now, apologize later. Maybe the religious right would like to dust off the old WWII internment camps, lock up all the Muslims for a while, then do some A&E specials on it later.
-------------------- "Are you worried that your thoughts are not quite.. clear?"
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted
If we could rid ourselves of the militant fundamentalists of BOTH religions, we would all be vastly better off.
-------------------- "The best defense is not a good offense. The best defense is a terrifyingly accurate and devastatingly powerful offense, with multiply-overlapping kill zones and time-on-target artillery strikes." -- Laurence, Archangel of the Sword
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I come home and my mother fresh from reading the newspaper tells me of the current plans for the Iraqi government. When our nation battles Iraq and destroys the current regime, a military government will be created to run the country. Something like this happened in Japan over fifty years ago.
Japan and the Middle East are not the same, though. The Japanese, obediant to their god-emperor, followed his wishes and respected the Americans and their efforts in rebuilding a war torn Japan. The Japanese came to like our music and our culture and incorporated elements of both into their culture.
The people of the Middle East are taught by their leaders in the media and the schools that the American government is supporting the Jewish cause and is hostile to the values and beliefs of Islam. They are told lies about the Jews and us. They see us using the Jews as a weapon against the Islamic world. It doesn't help when our military is in the land of their most sacred sites, Mecca and Medina, and it won't help when we positioned a military government in Iraq. This will be seen as a further expansion of an imperialistic nation bent on destroying Islam.
I fear this will be the catalyst in the many groups opposed to Israel and the West, especially the US, into an organized army. We have not killed any of the groups or attacked their major allies in the Middle East. They are functioning as before, killing and maiming their enemies while we are ducking for cover from their bullets and auto drivers.
This is a frelled situation, and will get more frelled soon.
Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:"The enemy has an ideology, and an hour spent surfing the Web will give the average citizen at least the kind of insights that he or she might have found during World Wars I and II by reading Mein Kampf or the writings of Lenin, Stalin or Mao."
Which you just plain wouldn't get it you spent an hour on the web looking at some Christian websites. . .
"For millions of non-believing Americans, Christianity is perhaps the most offensive and sinister of all the world's religions because it advocates the damnation and torment of non-believers. On this point, Christianity is a self-righteous psychosis like Fascism, Nazism, and Zionism."
posted
We do not ADVOCATE damnation for non-believers. We simply believe it's the nature of existence. There's a difference, unless there's some odd definition of "advocate" that I've never encountered.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Omega: We do not ADVOCATE damnation for non-believers. We simply believe it's the nature of existence. There's a difference, unless there's some odd definition of "advocate" that I've never encountered.
Two thousand years ago, some people believed that it was the "nature of existence" that the Earth was the center of the universe.
Two thousand years ago, some people believed that it was the "nature of existence" that fire was an element.
Two thousand years ago, some people believed that it was the "nature of existence" that Humans with darker skin were inferior to those with light skin.
Two thousand years ago, some people believed that it was the "nature of existence" that other people be sacrificed in bloody rituals in order to ensure good fortune for their own endeavors.
Two thousand years ago, some people believed that it was the "nature of existence" that those who did not believe in the Judeo-Christian God were destined to eternal damnation.
Need I go on?
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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"Two thousand years ago, some people believed that it was the 'nature of existence' that those who did not believe in the Judeo-Christian God were destined to eternal damnation."
Two thousand years ago, the man upon whom the term "Christian" would be based wasn't yet ten years old. No-one believed in a Judeo-Christian god because no such thing had been thought of.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by TSN: Two thousand years ago, the man upon whom the term "Christian" would be based wasn't yet ten years old. No-one believed in a Judeo-Christian god because no such thing had been thought of.
Two thousand years ago, people had no idea how old they were really, much less kept completely accurate historical records; therefore such expressions like "two thousand years ago" were frequently used as approximations.
Gee, I think they still do that today!
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
No! When people say "x years ago" they mean that amount exactly! This is why teh info in teh Voayger and hte Enterprsie is WORNG and teh Breman + teh Barga = suXXor! 8)
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